Farewell!

So, the blog is done.

I feel really good about where I am in my life right now, and I no longer need this outlet. With Jasper and Husband and all the exciting things that will be happening this Spring and Summer, I am so busy and so happy. 

I appreciate everyone who took time out of their day to read my little blog, and I really enjoyed telling you all about our lives in Portland. 

Thanks for traveling with me on this journey! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Veggie Grill

We got to eat at an all vegan restaurant the other day, called the Veggie Grill. It's a chain with locations in California, Washington, and Oregon. I have been excited to try this place since we have gone vegan, and it was great! 

http://www.veggiegrill.com/index.html

It's more focused on meat substitutes than whole food eating, but when I'm craving some 'normal' food, this is where I will go. Plus, it is HUGE joy to order something off the menu without any extra instructions. I was grinning like a little girl the whole time. 

I got a buffalo chicken salad, and husband got a cheese burger with all the fixins. We went with a friend who is not vegan, and he enjoyed his Thai wrap. 

This is mine, and I don't know what happened to husband's food pic. Note: I had eaten like half of this before I remembered to take a pic, so it's MUCH bigger than this. 

Here's a fancy professional pic of husbands food:

It was so freaking good. My food even had ranch dressing on it. I need that recipe Veggie Grill, give it up!!!! The 'chicken' bits were crispy and coated in hot wing sauce. MMMMMMM, now I'm hungry. 

I had a bite of the burger, and it was awesome. The best vegan burger I have ever had, by FAR. We got it 'El Dorado style' which includes jalapenos and onions. It came with a side of red cabbage slaw, although there are other side options, some for an upgrade price. 

I have a feeling that this will be our go-to restaurant whenever I feel the itch to go out. It's so satisfying and a perfect treat for anyone--vegan or not. If there's one near you (sorry, Colorado peeps) check it out ASAP!

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

He got the velcro

I got to go thrifting for the first time in a long time, and the thrift shop gods smiled on me. 
First, here's a video--in case you live under a rock and haven't seen it--that adequately sums up my love for thrifting. 

I only purchased 4 items. I am extremely picky when I thrift, as it's easy to spend money on things you will never wear or use. But when I encounter THE ITEM, I know it. 
We have a moment.

In this case, the magic happened when I met all of these items: 

 Let's talk sewing box first. 

I have always wanted one of these! The angled legs caught my eye first. The wood crap aisle is always intimidating at Goodwill, as it's not very organized. But take your time and check it all out. There's 'gold' in there, and lots of it is vintage. (before the "plastic age") This box made me squeal, especially when I discovered that it folds out like a tackle box. I can now free up the bowls that I currently store pins and needles in. It's something that your grandma has that gets passed down. It has some wear on the top, but I'm not going to touch that--it's earned it character. 

Next, let's talk about the clothes
 (not the scale yet, I'm saving the best for last).

The sweater is a new sweater, with tags still on, from Target. Always shop at a Goodwill nearest a Target, as that's where they send their clearance rejects. It's great for the more expensive lines Target does, like the recent Neiman Marcus collaboration (I found NM sweater there this time, but it was too big). 

The skirt has buttons down the front and pockets. It will be shortening it, as it hits mid calf. It will replace the other dark background floral skirt that I have worn. to. death. Literally held together with safety pins. 

Okay, the scale. I have been angry with my current scale for a while, as it EATS batteries. And they are the expensive flat ones too. Today I took out the battery and stuck it in my pocket, determined to get some more after I went to Goodwill. But I found a manual scale for $3!!!! 

This 50's scale stuck out at me under the pile of modern scales at Goodwill. 

I did test it with practically ALL of the other scales at Goodwill. That's right, I spend 15 minutes weighing myself with various scales at Goodwill. No shame. This scale was just as accurate as the new ones, and it is much cooker looking. 

I cleaned it up when I got home, and I think it's perfect.

Here's the old one: 

Shame on you Taylor scale for eating batteries! 

The best part of the new scale is that I just did some research on the Borg name. They are selling for up to 70 dollars on Ebay! Don't worry Mr. Scale, I'd never sell you!

I tell ya, it's the little things in life.  

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

End of Vegan Challenge!

So, here we are, three months without ingesting animal products. You probably think that we've turned into this guy: 

Well, we haven't. We have probably shifted a bit more toward the dirty hippie side of the spectrum, but we're totally still showering and everything. Promise. And lezz be honest, we were pretty much on the dirty hippie side of the scale already. 

I am staying vegan, and husband is as well. I wasn't predicting that outcome at the beginning of the year. It comes down to several factors: 

1. We feel great. 
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have tons of energy, and no "Ugh, I just stuffed myself, I need to lie down" feeling after eating. We get to eat more volume with less calories. 

2. We don't feel deprived. 
There's a vegan alternative to everything in these modern times! Even though we generally stay away the fake meats and cheeses, we also believe in indulging in cravings before they become obsessions. If I do miss anything, it's the convenience of quick eating, and we really shouldn't be eating those convenience foods anyway. 

3. There's an amazing power in saying "no" to yourself.
This is hard to explain unless you've experienced it yourself. I think of our modern food world as being in a constant state of feasting. High calorie foods are the norm. We eat those high calorie foods and our brain is happy for a moment, because feasting just feels good. We want that feeling again and again. Obviously we can see the effect of this behavior on our society. Making a break in that behavior ends up making you feel better, for a longer period of time. What you don't realize is that while feasting feels good, not feasting doesn't feel bad. In fact, it doesn't feel like anything! Your self control improves, and you realize that emotion doesn't rule your food choices anymore. I am the most in control of my relationship with food than I have ever been, and I am loving it. 

4. It's easy now!
I've adapted to cooking vegan, we've adapted to eating vegan, and we know where to eat out. 

As I have said before, eating is a highly personal choice, and has a major impact on your body. I urge you to think about your own food 'path'. Do what is right for YOU! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Quick and Dirty Dog Bow tie Tutorial

I've found another outlet for crafting! His name is Jasper. 

Today, I spend about ten minutes making him a super easy dog bow tie out of felt. 

Felt is the perfect project for this quick tie, as it doesn't fray when you cut it, it's easily available in lots of colors, and it's super cheap. I used safety pins for this project, hence the quick and dirty name. Jasper won't be running or playing in his bow tie, so I feel comfortable with it having safety pins. It will mostly be for special occasions, like a proper bow tie should be! If I didn't have quilt stuff all over my sewing area, I would have sewed it. Use your best judgement to determine what's best for your dog. 

I started with an almost full sheet of green felt. Jasper's 'official' color is red (that's just what color his collar from the shelter is), but I didn't have any red felt. I thought that he would look good in green too. 



I didn't take any measurements for this bow tie, because it's the type that attaches to his collar and doesn't go around his neck. Use your own judgement about how big to make yours. I provide approximate measurements, so if you have a Jasper size pup it will look great. Scale up or down as needed. 

I cut a wide piece of felt along the longest edge of my felt piece. It was about 4 inches wide and 11 inches long. 


Then I folded the felt piece in half and cut triangles on the fold, about 1/2 inch wide at the base and three inches long, on both sides of the fold. This will create a cleaner look when the bow tie is folded and gathered. 





Then I cut the strip to go around the middle, about 10 inches long and 1 inch wide. 

I also cut some 'tails' for the tie, and I just eyeballed those. They are about 3 inches wide and 4 inches from base to tip. They aren't perfect, but no one can tell! Also, the strip shown below is too short, so go with the measurements above. I re-cut my strip and didn't take a picture, boo. 



Take your long tie piece, and use safety pins (or whatever method you want to use) to join the ends. You now have a bow tie circle. Match the ends that you just joined to the smallest part of the front of the tie. Smooth the circle until it lays flat. 


Take your long strip of felt and tie it around the middle of the tie. It might take a couple of tries to get it how you like it. Don't tie it too tight. 

Adjust your bow tie as needed, pulling the sides until they are even, and perfecting any folds that appear. 

Flip the tie over and pin the 'tails' to the underside of the bow tie. 





Now you are ready to stick it on your pooch! 
I tied the tie on his collar with the extra length from the felt strip, then I used two safety pins to attach the sides of the tie to his collar so that it would lay flat. When I used the safety pins on his collar, I made sure to start them from the bottom, as opposed to the top, so that if they came undone they wouldn't jab him. The smooth part of the pin with the catch was next to his skin. Does that make sense? I highly doubt that they will come undone with the low-energy activities he will be doing while wearing this bow tie, but you never know. 

Now that I've made one, I'm thinking about safety pin-free designs that I can make for him. I think some Velcro sewed to his collar would do the trick, then I would sew Velcro on his tie. I would love to have him wear his tie on his walks! Such a dapper dude. 

He looked super handsome, even though he was confused as to why he needed to wake up and get off the couch for this. He has a hard life, I tell ya.  

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Separation Anxiety

As this week is all things doggie, I thought that I would share our main goal that we have for Jasper. Oh, and some pictures!

Number one goal: 

Be quiet and not stressed when we leave the house. 

Right now it's not too terrible, he maybe is sad for seven minutes max when we leave. That involves some quiet wines and one or two barks. Then he curls up on the couch. If he remembers that we are gone, he might get up and do it again. But, he isn't destroying anything, or being super loud. So it could be tons worse. I record him and watch it back, and I get good information about how he is behaving.

 We've only had him for 4 days, so I think this might relax with time. 

 We are practicing on him being alone while I am home, and his area is the den, so he can't follow me around the whole house like glue, which he totally would do if he could. We try to get him relaxed and tired before we leave, which helps. Also, not making a big deal about when we come or go helps a lot too. 

I've read that shelter dogs sometimes go through this phase once they first get adopted, and I think that's justified!
 I would want to be around my people all the time too. 

 If anyone has any ideas, let us know please!

But, we are overall so happy with this doggie. He's super smart, and we have to spell lots of things already. He already knows Out, Walk, Cat, Food, Treat. He also knows a lot of commands, like Leave It, Sit, Stay, Come On, Off, Down, and can leave a treat on the floor until I say 'get it'. We can see huge potential with him, and are excited to see where he ends up. 

And now for pictures! 

I think he's relaxed. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Jasper's Adoption Story

We adopted a dog on Saturday from the Oregon Humane Society, and he is pure awesome. 

We have been wanting a dog for some time now, and we had been going back and forth between living in the city for a year or living out in the suburbs still, but getting a dog. We didn't know what we wanted for a while, but the dog option really seemed like the right choice for us in the end. We didn't think the city choice was best for us right now. So, we began our search for THE dog. 

We went to rescue events, and the shelter several times. There were some dogs that we liked, but we still weren't sure. When we went back to the shelter on Friday, we discovered a section of the kennel area that we had skipped! And that's where 'Bolt' was. 

He had been there for 18 days, which is a long time for this particular shelter. Most dogs are in there for a week, tops. His adoption fee had just been lowered to the lowest tier, and he was on "March Madness" sale on top of that. They wanted him gone!

He had been surrendered by his owner, the owner giving a rather vague "I don't like the way he acts." He was not fixed when he was surrendered, and the shelter took care of that. He is also pretty underweight (You can't tell by looking, but totally can by feeling him.), and has some flaky skin that we think is due to a grain allergy. He didn't want to come up to the door of his kennel to let us pet him, he just laid on his bed and looked at us. But, there was something about him. Maybe it was his eyes, which are so like Jade's eyes. 
 We decided to meet with him, even though the shelter rep told us that he might not like us, that he cried for three days straight when he got to the shelter, and that he is wary of new people and situations. 

As soon as the door opened to the meeting room, 'Bolt' attacked Husband with kisses and love. He let us touch him all over, and was really submissive from the first moment. We didn't need long with him to know he had just adopted us. It was 7:30pm at this point, so we put a hold on him and came back the next day to adopt him. Everyone was happy to see him go, and told us what a great dog he is.  

We took him home, and he has just blossomed in the three days we have had him. He is 2 years old, about 50 pounds (we're aiming for 55 as a goal), and he has some husky in him, mixed with who-knows-what. I think that it's border collie/lab, due to his markings, ears, head shape, and attention to all things bird-like. 

I will write more tomorrow about his mild behavior issues and what we are working on now! I think that he will be all I post about on the blog this week, since he is taking up so much of our time. 
Soon all will calm down around here, and we will settle into our routine.

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

My Zenni Optical Experience

So my glasses broke. And I had used up my lens allowance through my insurance getting lenses in my Mom's saweeeeet bright blue 80's Raybans. So I researched alternative glasses methods. 

I found: 
http://www.zennioptical.com/

I read great reviews about them online, so I thought that I would give it a go. I know it might be nerve racking for you, so don't worry, I did it for you! 

When you do this kind of thing, you should totally upload a picture so you can try the glasses on your face. I liked that a lot, since I'm so blind that normally at a doctor's office trying on the model frames with no prescription is a pain. I'm like 2 inches from the mirror and second guessing everything.  This way (online) you get to see it on your face, and with good vision from your glued together current glasses. Then you get to stare at and analyze your face for as long as you want.

The website (which worked better on Firefox for me) has awesome sorting options. They have a huge selection, and I narrowed it down to three or so.  
Then I slept on it, and ordered the winning pair the next day. 

You need to know your prescription, as well as your Pupillary Distance (PD). This isn't listed on a normal prescription, so you have to ask to get it measured or have them give it to you at the doctor's office. No biggie.

I picked a 20 dollar frame, and needed a couple of upgrades with lens thickness (I don't want coke bottle lenses!) and such, but that only cost 20 dollars extra. So I was at about 40 dollars for new glasses. Sounds good to me. I usually run well over 100 dollars at the doctor's office. 
Also, I wanted to get out of my "box" with glasses, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so, as they were cheaper and I could order another pair if I hated them. I feel such pressure to pick glasses at the doctor's--with not seeing myself clearly, and it being my once chance to pick right for the next year of glasses. 

I plugged in my numbers for my prescription, and my glasses were here within a week. They are awesome. I've been wearing glasses since third grade, and I can tell that these frames are higher quality most I've had. Here's a pic of the glasses at breakfast in Portland: 

And just in case you wanted a bonus husband shot: 

This restaurant has the best vegan and omni options EVER, and is an unbelievable hipster spotting area.
 It's on the visitor list now. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

How menu planning saves us a bundle!

A lot of people think that being vegan costs a ton of money. That might be true if you eat a ton of expensive meat substitutes, but we do not. Besides, one thing that I have always done is plan a menu. I did this even before I was vegan. The best part is that this maybe takes ten minutes to do, not including shopping. Considering it saves me up to 100 dollars a month, I think that is worth it. 

I recently found out how much more I would be spending by not menu planning. When we first went vegan, I stopped menu planning and just bought whatever looked good out of excitement. I didn't over buy my food necessarily, but I didn't  stick to a list. My grocery costs rose to about 60 dollars a week, which is expensive for us. Quickly, I realized that I needed to plan again, and the costs shot back down to 30 or 40 dollars a week. Much better. We don't eat out hardly ever, so that comes out to 42 meals a week (3 meals a day, 7 days a week, 2 people) at about .95 cents per meal. I think that's an acceptable cost! If you spend more, don't worry, I bet that's your meat cost, or regional differences, which will vary for everyone. 

Here's how I do it! 
I shop at Winco, which is a great grocery store. Unfortunately, they don't send out a weekly circular add, since sales are different from store to store. So I can't use the ads to help me there. But, I do also supplement with organic produce from New Seasons, Costco, and Trader Joe's, as well as specialty items from the big Asian grocery store Uwajimaya.
All of those places have ads, so I start there with my planning. Usually the ads are online. 

When I am looking through the ads, I search for common ingredients in dishes that our family likes. I then put it on my list. For example, if I see broccoli on sale at New Seasons, I stick it on the list. We really like broccoli. Then I can add broccoli soba noodles to my menu. I continue until I have found seven meals to fill my board. 

The board is not necessary, but I think Husband likes knowing what's going on... and I don't like him always asking me what's for dinner. Plus, if you were to split meal prep (like we will again once I am working), it's easy to know who is cooking that night. 

This week was different, as I really wanted to try a restaurant in Portland (that's what you see on Saturday), and Sunday was St. Patrick's Day and people were coming over. So I planned and bought for 5 meals. But you get the idea. I do have meals that are standards, like the udon noodles and burritos/tacos. Other times I mix it up. 

Now, it seems like I am planning for just dinner, and not lunch. Well, in our family we usually have cereal, toast, or oatmeal for breakfast. I just check the supplies for these things while making my list, and add it if needed. I also always check for on sale berries to add to oatmeal and cereal. Husband takes dinner leftovers to work for lunch, and I usually have a salad or leftovers for my lunch. I make sure to have salad greens around, so I stick them on the list.

Once you have planned all meals, go back and see what you need to flesh the meals out. For example, I would need garlic to go in my broccoli soba noodles, and sesame seeds. If I was out, I would make sure to add them to the list. Repeat for all days. 

Let's review the steps, without all the wordiness. 

1. Check ads for often used ingredients.

2. Add the dish that uses that ingredient to menu. 

3. Add that ingredient to your list. 

4. Repeat finding ingredients/adding meals until you have enough meals.

5. Check that you have ingredients to make the full meal, flesh out list as needed.

6. Check for auxiliary meals, like breakfast and lunch, modify list as needed.  

7. Shop! 

I really like having my meals set for the week, as it's tons less stressful for me. If you are working late, imagine coming home and not having to worry about WHAT you are making, and just make it really fast. Much easier in my opinion, and you are not tempted to grab fast food, because you know you have the groceries already accounted for that meal. 

 I hope you try it for yourself! I know you will save money and have less stress about meals. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

St Paddy's All Over Again!

I like to joke that I'm Irish by marriage. But the truth is that St. Patrick's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. In Colorado, St Paddy's Day would include the shortest parade ever and a pub day with friends and family. Out in Oregon, we decided to have people over, since Portland was going to be insane on the 17th with a big 5k and drunken shenanigans all in the same 10 block radius. 

Before people came over, we started the morning with green smoothies.

Then had some AMAZING vegan ruben sandwiches for lunch. Recipe here.

Before we knew it, peeps were here. 
We had cupcakes, which were the absolute bomb. Recipe here. 

And a family secret coleslaw which is not remotely irish. Very midwestern. 

Almost gone! 

And of course we played drinking games, like flip cup:

And had a fun time chatting...

I hope that you had an equally awesome St Paddy's Day! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Natural and Chic Beauty: Tips and Tricks on a Dime

Alright, we've covered ingredients and my favorite brand for natural beauty. Now I want to share some tips for looking amazing with a small budget and natural ingredients. Obviously, this is just what works for me, and I don't guarantee results for you, since everyone is different. 

Witch Hazel

This is an amazing toner that you can find everywhere for super cheap. It's naturally derived and has great skin benefits. I noticed a difference in pore size, skin texture, acne frequency, and even tone within a week. I use it after cleansing, morning and night, before applying moisturizer. Super simple, and super cheap! 

Lemon and Honey Mask

This works wonders for skin tone and moisture issues. After gently washing your face as normal, take half of a lemon. I usually use it after it has been lightly squeezed once so it doesn't squirt lemon juice everywhere. Drizzle about 1 tsp honey or agave on the cut side of the lemon. While lying on a towel elevated in bed, or in the bath tub, rub your face with the cut side of the lemon. The white pith segments in the lemon lightly exfoliate, while the honey moisturizes, and the lemon juice evens your skin tone. Once you have rubbed your face for about 3 minutes, let it dry for a while. It will probably sting a bit, so wash it off if it gets too intense. But power through it, it's worth it! Rinse off and moisturize your face. 

Baking Soda 'Microdermabrasion'

About once a week (Not on same day I do my honey/lemon mask, ouch) I wash my face with baking soda. It's such a fine texture that it does a great job exfoliating. Just wet your face, grab some plain baking soda, and scrub your face with your fingers or a washcloth. I focus on my nose and chin areas, since I tend to get blackheads there. The baking soda really helps keep those areas clear. Rinse, tone, and moisturize. 

Baking Soda Clarifying Shampoo

Instead of having to buy another separate shampoo for getting all of the styling gunk out of your hair, use baking soda. I just grab a handful and scrub it into my wet hair whenever I feel that my hair needs a refresh. It works great. Then I rinse my hair and use conditioner.  My hair feels lighter and regains its bounce. 

Trim Your Own Hair

This scared me to death, but I just did it the other day and I'm a convert. Instead of more frequent haircuts, you can retain your hair's shape with a light trim, while trimming off any split ends. My hair feels like I just got it cut, with the silky ends and all. I section my hair into top and bottom. Then I grab one inch sections and weave them through my fingers. The hair goes under your pointer finger, over your middle finger, and under your ring finger. Then grab some SHARP scissors with your other hand. Slide the hand with the hair slowly down the shaft of the hair, trimming off any ends that stick up during the journey to the end. I also gave it a quick snip on the end of the hair. This didn't take any time at all, and was a huge refresh to my hair. 

Do you have anything that you do to keep your beauty costs down? Share in the comments! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Natural and Chic Week: Alaffia Products

I know that some people have some hesitation when trying new products, especially when natural products tend to cost a bit more than regular products. It's worth it, trust me. 

So, since I do like this blog to be a bit of everything, I thought that I would share with you some of the ready-made beauty products that I have had great success with. Of course, I was not paid to endorse these products, and I decided to write this post of my own volition. 

You might notice a trend throughout this post, and that is products called "Everyday ______" It could be Everyday Shea, or Everyday Coconut. 
All of the products I talk about in this post (even the leave in conditioner) are made by Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care and Everyday Shea.

I am wild about this brand. It's made in Washington, and they help the people of Togo, Africa stay in school, have maternal health, and other awesome humanitarian things. Ten percent of their profit goes back into the Togo community. The country of Togo produces the shea butter used in the product, and it's all fair trade and kind to the people of Togo. 

 All of their products have super clean ingredients, and smell great. 

I will never use another lotion besides theirs. 

It's the best at moisturizing deeply. It smells awesome, especially since I love lavender so much. Their products usually come in 3 different scents, one unscented. The others are scented with natural essential oils.
 Anyways, back to the lotion. It's not greasy at all, and still is highly effective. I like lotion that absorbs quickly, and doesn't make my legs feel like a giant oil slick. It helps that all their products come in giant sizes with a pump! I can get this on sale locally for under ten dollars. 

I also love their body wash. Silky lather, moisturizing, rinses clean. It makes my shower feel special! Enough said. 



For conditioner, I recently switched to an Alaffia product. 
 Big Surprise, right? I mean, almost everything I use is made by them. 


This is the best conditioner I have ever used, conventional or not. It doesn't feel heavy, yet does a great job of deeply moisturizing down to the scalp. I need a lot of hydration in my hair, so if you don't I recommend a conditioner from their Everyday Shea line. I used to use their regular shea conditioner, but it was not moisturizing enough for my hair. 
 I will probably switch to their coconut shampoo too, but it was sold out last time I was at the store. 

I also use Alaffia's leave in conditioner from another line by them called Beautiful Curls. This line is generally for wavy or curly hair that needs moisture. I use just a dollop, and my hair dries silky and smooth.


At this point I feel like I should own stock in Alaffia. 
This leave in conditioner helps my hair to stay frizz-less, even in Oregon rain town. If you have curly hair, I HIGHLY recommend you check their curl products out. I have been using this product for almost 2 years, and I am a convert. Honestly, try it even if you don't have curly hair, it's that good. 

I think I am a life-long Alaffia user. I want to try every product they make, especially the bubble bath. Check out the products through their website. 

http://www.alaffia.com/index.asp

Click shop in the top right, then scroll down to see all options. The "Everyday _______" options are on the right side of the page, as they are on a different website. 
I like supporting such a great company, and I want to get the word out about what a great job they are doing!

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

natural and chic beauty: ingredients matter!

Did you guess this week's theme from the picture of my facebook page?

Here's the picture: 

This week is natural and chic beauty week! I will be sharing my favorite products, tips, and routines. I find that many people want to learn more about natural beauty, but are lost in the sea of new products and routines. I promise you that natural and chic go hand in hand, and that natural products will not have you looking like you just rolled out of bed after going to Coachella. I have been a natural beauty fan for a long time, having practically grown up in health food stores. This is second nature to me now, and I want to share the knowledge I have gained! 

First, lets get a handle on what is actually in conventional beauty products. It's important to understand why we need to be advocates for ourselves when it comes to beauty products. Simply put, as stated by EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetic Database (link below), 

"The American government doesn’t require health studies or pre-market testing of the chemicals in personal care products, even though just about everyone is exposed to them."

So, who's watching out for you? You are! Luckily it's really easy to look up ingredients and what data is out there on them. 

There's a lovely website, called Skin Deep Cosmetic Database. It gives you a quick score (green, yellow, red and a number score out of 10-- high=bad) on any product you search for, as well as links to scientific studies on ingredients. 
This is a foolproof method, as you can quickly search a product and see a color indicating the rating immediately  You can leave your research at that level, or--with a few more clicks--determine exactly why it received the rating. 

I don't want to get into specific brand analysis, since that gets complicated with legality and all that, but I did take some time and search for some various 'big name' shampoos, deodorants and other beauty products. Then search your products that you use day in and day out. It won't take long, and you might be surprised on what they are rated. For example, I learned that I need to switch my mascara to one that has even cleaner ingredients. 

Obviously, when you are shopping it's a great idea to check the ingredients and see if you can recognize or pronounce them. Other than that, I have three tips when shopping to make sure you are getting a healthy product: 

1. One of my easiest 'alarm bells' when shopping for beauty products is the catch all word 'fragrance' in the ingredients. This is going to be in a lot of stuff, so don't get frustrated. In fact, I practically guarantee that you will have to look at a 'natural' product to get away from 'fragrance'. You should think hard about getting away from this ingredient though, as it can encompass a wide range of scary things. Here's the ingredient link from Skin Deep. It got a red rating, and there's lots of mentions of organ toxicity and reproductive troubles. One of the main ingredients that can be in the catch-all term 'fragrance' is phthalate. This is basically a plastic based artificial scent. It's currently being phased out in many products over health concerns, but it's still overwhelmingly present. 

2. Shop at a health food store or natural store. Usually, these places can be counted on to do some of the hard work for you. They also tend to have a ton of variety, which makes shopping really fun. Try the samples, and see what you like. 

3. Brand loyalty. If you find a brand that works for you, stick with it. Later this week I have a post that is all about my favorite beauty brand. It's a lot easier to stick with a brand that you already trust and can stick in your cart without a second thought. 


PS: A note about prices. People often think that natural products are super expensive. If you compare them to conventional products, sure. But think of it this way. You can compare a conventionally grown orange at Whole Foods to another conventionally grown orange at Walmart, and Walmart most likely has the better price. But you can't compare conventional vs natural beauty products between stores, since they are not the same products at all. The ingredients are vastly different. Really in this case you get what you pay for. 
 Buy on sale, buy smartly, and you will get your money's worth. 

I hope that this post inspires you to do some research. Learning new things is super fun, and this makes you feel like a fancy scientist when you know what long ingredients really are!
 
This is what you get when you google "fancy scientist."

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

An Exercise in Personal Style

As I was preparing to clean out my closet for the Spring Cleaning Challenge (You doing that still? No? Oh well.) I realized that my wardrobe needed some fine tuning. I had seen something online about creating a 'capsule wardrobe' which is like an inspirational map of where you want your wardrobe to be. This can go with you while you shop to keep you from buying those crazy items that have no place in your wardrobe. Since I am exploring every avenue of self-improvement lately, I decided to take a stab at it. I found it very useful, since you don't usually sit down and think about what colors look good on you, and what you want to project to the world. At least, I didn't before this exercise. 

I highly recommend you try this for yourself, and if you do, please show me what you came up with. I used polyvore.com, which is useful if you can get past the teenage clothes, like crop sweatshirts that proclaim NERD.

I created some looks with polyvore, then used word to make the rest. Here's the finished product: 

I feel much more focused about what I want to wear. I think that I will use this to clean out my closet, eliminating things that deviate from the guidelines too much. I already have so much that fits with this guide, and my closet is where I pulled the colors and rules from. This will help me stay away from trends--peplum and colored jeans stay away please! I don't want to be someone who wears the same thing everyday, but guidelines like this make putting together outfits super easy.

  Let me know if you try it! 

Thanks for reading! 
Best wishes and love from Portland.